Batman: Odyssey

Batman: Odyssey is a Batman miniseries drawn by legendary illustrator Neal Adams, one of the defining artists of Batman. On the downside, it is also written by Neal Adams, which leads to some... issues. It is very, very strange.

Over drinks, Naked Bruce Wayne tells a story to a friend sitting Behind the Black. The story he tells is meandering and bizarre even by comic-book standards, but eventually coalesces into the tale of Batman traveling Beneath the Earth to battle a deadly enemy, rescue Talia Al-Ghul, and solve an ancient mystery.

The writing and plot are simply weird in every way, and as such the comic has developed a following to track the insanity of it all.

Tropes used in Batman: Odyssey include:

• Beneath the Earth: Featuring trolls, giant bats, dinosaurs, wizards, and all-around weirdness.
• Carpet of Virility: Naked Bruce Wayne.
• Crazy Prepared: Batman, Batman, Batman. Specialized weaponry? Check. Faux Death tricks? Check. Rigging Robin to explode? ... ... ... Check.
• Faux Symbolism: Finally, Naked Bruce Wayne puts on a shirt. It's a Green Lantern shirt. There is no immediately evident meaning to this.
• God Guise: The Egyptian Gods are actually ancient genetic experiments. Wait, what?
• Hollow World: Neal Adams does not believe in plate tectonics.
• Nested Story: Naked Bruce's recollection is not the only flashback going on, which makes things rather confusing in the early issues.
• Our Hero Is Dead: Batman is killed by his one weakness. Bullets. From a gun. He's faking it.
• The Starscream: Sensei wants to take over Ra's Al-Ghul's underworld empire. It turns out "underworld" is literal.
• Super Dickery: Several examples, but the one where Batman detonates Robin after Robin gets himself captured takes the cake. Naked Bruce explains in the next issue how he designed Robin's armor to self-destruct without harming him.
• What's a Henway?
• Writer on Board: Neal Adams is an advocate of "Expanding Earth Theory".